District 3 wrangles top cowboy and cowgirl at Champions

Courtesy/Kathy Prendergast/District 3California High School Rodeo Association District 3’s Clayton Brum and Cheyanne Carpenter display their saddles won as All Around cowboy and cowgirl at the Challenge of Champions Rodeo held in Plymouth March 22-23.

The top three cowboys and cowgirls in each rodeo event representing the districts in the California High School Rodeo Association are invited to participate in the Challenge of Champions held in Plymouth. This year’s event was held March 22-24.

Taking top honors were two of District 3’s finest, Cheyanne Carpenter and Clayton Brum. The two have been outstanding performers their entire careers and now have another saddle to add to their growing collections.

“How can I express something I've dreamed of all of my life, just simply into words? It's beyond anything else I've ever experienced,” Carpenter said. “I never thought I was capable of something like this, but this just proves to me that if you strive to be the best and work towards it – it is more than possible.

A senior, Carpenter had been working to achieve her goal the past three years. The closest she had ever come was placing sixth. But after doing well in cutting that Friday her confidence began to grow.

“After placing second in cutting Friday morning, I was optimistic that this year would be different,” said Carpenter. “As the weekend went on, the optimism paid off. I couldn’t be happier with how the weekend ended.”

Carpenter placed in the top 10 in all four of the events she entered; Brum did the same.

Along with her second-place finish in cutting, Carpenter was fourth in breakaway roping, fifth in goat tying and placed sixth in pole bending.

Brum took top honors in bull riding, second in tie-down roping; he and Clayton Biglow were sixth in team roping and he placed ninth in cutting.